ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS

An Environmental crisis is any phenomenon known to affect a given ecosystem's probability of

self remediation. In other words; an irreversible negative impact that needs human intervention
to mitigate the effects from spreading to nearby ecosystems, having always the chance of
absolute zero probability to reverse the situation, in cases like the Chernobyl meltdown and its
consequential radioactive leak, or the microplastics biomagnification and its food chain pollution
driven by consumer demand on single use plastics.

It may be of two types:

1.) Immediate natural or human-induced disasters causing large scale threat to human health
and/or environment (Seveso, Bhopal, Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez, Aurul gold mine cyanide spill,
Songhua)

2.) Problems that accumulate over time leading to human health problems and/or severe
environmental degradation.

The main features of environmental crisis include:

1. Climate change: anthropogenic climate change due to pollution of the atmosphere by

greenhouse gases (and other contaminants) is now regarded as one of the major global
environmental issues. It occurs largely as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels,
emissions from agriculture and pastoralism, and land-use changes that accompany the
destruction, clearance and burning of forests. Climate change already has observable
ecological and social effects, and its projected impacts could potentially result in
profound changes in global mean surface temperature, sea level, ocean circulation,
precipitation patterns, climatic zones, species distributions and ecosystem function.
2. Stratospheric ozone depletion: the depletion of stratospheric ozone due to the
pollution of the atmosphere by halocarbons (such as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs) is
another serious environmental issue. It is a significant concern because the lack of
protective ozone at high altitudes results in increased levels of harmful solar ultraviolet
(UV-B) radiation reaching the earth's surface, causing a range of health-related and
ecological impacts.
3. Degraded air quality: other forms of air pollution are also significant, particularly at
regional and local scales, as they may seriously degrade air quality; worldwide,
approximately one billion people inhabit areas - mainly industrial cities - where unhealthy
 levels of air pollution occur. Many air pollutants are responsible for the degradation of air
quality, but some key pollutants include particulate matter (such as soot), tropospheric
ozone, oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulphur, lead and various aromatic compounds
(such as benzene). Many air pollutants may cause or aggravate respiratory and
cardiovascular illnesses; some are known carcinogens; and some can cause damage to
vegetation and, in turn, produce a range of ecological effects.
4. Degraded water quality: similarly, water quality can be seriously degraded by
contamination with pollutants, giving rise to a range of health-related and ecological
effects (such as the degradation of coral reefs). A major source of water pollution is the
terrestrial run-off to inshore waters that occurs in many coastal locations; such run-off
may contain significantly elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural
land and from human settlements. Many other human activities lead to water pollution,
including mining and industrial processes, which may create toxic effluent. Oil spills,
accumulation of plastics and the bioaccumulation of persistent organic chemicals are
some of the other causes of serious degradation of the marine environment.
5. Scarcity of fresh water: besides the pollution of freshwater sources, there are a variety
of other reasons for the scarcity of fresh water for drinking in many parts of the world -
many of which are related to poor water resource management practices. For instance,
the over-abstraction of water from rivers results in water shortages and problems of
salinisation downstream. Irrigation practices may also be responsible for the depletion of
local water sources and the salinisation of irrigated land. Vast differences in water
security exist at the global scale, reflecting both demand for fresh water and the scale of
public and private investment in water supplies, treatment and distribution.
6. Land contamination: land contamination occurs as a result of chemical or radioactive
pollution, especially by long-lived (persistent) chemical species that enter the soil. Land
contamination may cause profound ecological effects and it presents severe constraints
to development, since contaminated land must typically be rehabilitated before it is safe
to use for agriculture, construction or recreation.
7. Deforestation: it has been estimated that around half of the world's mature forests have
been cleared by humans. Deforestation occurs for a variety of reasons, but the majority
of deforestation now occurs when tropical forests are cleared for agriculture and
pastoralism; other reasons include the destruction of trees for charcoal production and
the selective logging of forests for timber. Whilst tropical forests cover only around 6% of
the earth's surface, they are an essential part of the global ecosystem and of the
 biosphere: they help to regulate climate; they protect soils from erosion; and they
provide habitats for a vast number of plant and animal species. One estimate suggests
that around 90% of the world's species are found in tropical forests (Park 2001).
8. Soil erosion and degradation: concerns about soil erosion, soil degradation and the
problem of desertification have become acute. In part, these concerns are based on the
historical experiences of dramatic soil erosion and transport in New World countries
including the USA (during the 'Dust Bowl' of the 1930s) and Australia. Whilst analyses of
the problems of soil erosion and degradation have become more sophisticated, recently,
it is clear that these problems continue to have important consequences for agricultural
and pastoral productivity as well as for the functioning of natural ecosystems.
9. Land use change and habitat loss: these issues overlap with others, such as
deforestation, but they are broader and include the clearance of forest for agriculture and
pastoralism, the transformation of land during urban growth, the development of new
infrastructure (such as roads), the drainage of wetlands, and the destruction and
removal of coastal mangrove forests. The impact of land use change on forest and
grassland environments is depicted in 1.4.1.
10. Biodiversity loss: many plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, due to
the spread of disease, the destruction and degradation of their habitats, and direct
exploitation. In 1999, UNEP (1999) estimated that one-quarter of the world's mammal
species and around one-tenth of the world's bird species faced a significant risk of total
extinction. Threats to biodiversity are not confined to terrestrial ecosystems; serious
concerns have been raised about the future of marine and coastal wildlife species as a
result of the pollution, over-exploitation and acidification of ocean and seas.